I'm trying them outdoors in ground here in the eastbay. As of near Jan 09 they look fine having taken mostly 40'sF and a pair of 37F nigh...Read Morets/mornings, with no damage. What's interesting is that with all the cold winter rain they look as good as the day I planted them. Interesting, because in summer when I first purchased them I placed them temporarily (in there nursery pot and peaty mix) in part shade..within a few short days two limbs began to rot.
Quickly getting them in ground,in sun,the rot stopped.
As you can see from the photos some are much more colorful in spine and trunk then others. In evening shade stems are a beautiful turquoise.
Even stem diameter can varie.If they do well and do come even close to 3' in height or around, these have to be among the showiest Euphorbia's you will ever see.
EDIT: Now in February,mine has been blooming since January-take that-lol. Hardy with not a spot from a low of 33f.
EDIT UPDATE 2011: Still doing great in norcal. They are getting woody trunks on 16" plants. They are a magnet for detritus..fallen leaves,even a birdsnest that fell on it made a mess...and that stuff really sticks to it. You have to pick off the duff ..wont hose off. Strange its like that.
Not the easiest plant to grow for me... very slow. But recently discovered a bunch of larger plants at a cactus center nearby and they a...Read Morere beautiful. So, skipped 20 years of growing and got a large one... for a friend. Hope it makes it in his yard. Nice, tubular, branching plant profusely covered with thick, long, red-purple spines. Very striking. needs support as gets larger, or branches fall off (probably reroot in native S Africa, but doubt they will do that here in So Cal)
I have no clue how this plant differs from Euphorbia atrispina... as far as I can tell, they are one and the same, but probably there is some subtle difference in flowers that I don't see
I'm trying them outdoors in ground here in the eastbay. As of near Jan 09 they look fine having taken mostly 40'sF and a pair of 37F nigh...Read More
Leafless shrub to 1 m high freely branching from base,branches blue-or grey-green with red spines to 6 cm long.
Not the easiest plant to grow for me... very slow. But recently discovered a bunch of larger plants at a cactus center nearby and they a...Read More